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I am looking for some guidance on the assembly of the sidemount covers for my 120 Touring Sedan. Here are 3 pictures of what I have.

My questions:

What "retains" the covers onto the tires? I have the chrome rod, 2 rods, and locks. I know how they attach to the tire....... the one with the lock goes thru the center hub and is locked. The shorter rod pushes against the tire (or rim) to keep the tire in place.

I have deflated one tire in an attempt to get the cover(s) on. I think they will go on with a little nudging. My concern is that the 2 covers (upper with mirror and face) will be rattling around.

The 3rd picture is of some shaped foam rubber that was with the sidemounts when I received them from the previous owner 18 years ago...... not sure what they are for. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am almost (99%) complete with my very long restoration. Thanks in advance. Daryl

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I am a little surprised that no one has responded to this. I have seen a lot of pictures on the web of 36 120's with sidemounts identical to mine. They must have mounted them somehow. (I am not complaining, just a little surprised)

At this point, I will deflate the tires and see if the 2 "tread or top" covers will "slip" on. After that, inflate the tires and see what happens. Maybe it is as simple as that. Could be that the foam pieces fit between the top of the tire and the bolt/nut assembly for the mirror. This would provide a cushion between the mirror post/bolt and the tread; and also help retain the tread cover in place.

I have not had mine apart on my 37, but I think there is foam down in the fender before the tire goes in. Not sure about the foam pieces you have pictured.

Don't have sidemounts, but as Hank says, believe I've heard the rubber pieces are for the bottom of the sidemount wells. The other thing with sidemount tyres is, they must be the proper size. Original size for '36 120 tyres is 7.00 x 16, oversize or modern reproduction tyres may not fit!

My tires are 7.00 x 16, so they are the correct size. I have some new foam about the thickness of the pieces that are in the picture.

I've never had sidemounts either other than a single one on a 1941 120A Henney-Packard hearse but I did have a separate 1940 fender well by itself years ago that had a couple heavy rubber strips that were stapled across the lower sides in a couple pieces to support the tire. They appear to have been either extruded, then cut to the proper length or possibly molded that way but they have a shape to them rather than being flat. I still have those but not the well itself.

I have both new rubber pieces (2 for each sidemount) and they are installed. I am still wondering what holds the sheet metal covers in place on the tire(s). It just doesn't make sense to me that "friction" is the only thing that holds them solidly in position...... especially with mirror(s) on the top of each side. Those mirrors must vibrate considerably. We all know that a vibrating mirror is almost impossible to see out of. If Packard engineers designed these so that works good..... my hat is off to them!

My 35 eight (which is a senior model) has a strap on the bottom with a buckle to hold it in place.

Although I don't have experience with 120 sidemounts I do have experience with sidemounts on my '33 1002. On the '33, the tread cover fits over the sidewall "doughnut" cover and its springiness holds to both the sidewall cover and the tire tread. My car has clamp-on sidemount mirrors and the mirrors don't exhibit vibration and are totally effective as rearview mirrors. There is no foam rubber or any other kind of padding in the fenderwells.

Are your tires radial or bias ply, I know that the guy that sold me my car stated that the radial would not fit in the carrier for the spare. Thus I got 4 radials on the car and a bias ply in the spare for emergency. Hope this helps
W